>> The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original
production. >> I'm Frederica Freyberg
on this Thanksgiving week. Tonight we bring you a
compilation of some of our favorite stories. Our
reporters have fanned out across the state to bring
you Zac Schultz breaks down the balance of political
power in Wisconsin. Reporter Steven Potter
shows the ongoing cleanup of lead in Milwaukee public
schools. [MUSIC]
the tiny town of Stella about PFAS contamination,
and Erika Ayisi reports on UW Madison's tuition
guarantee for indigenous students. It's "Here& Now"
for November 28th. [MUSIC]
>> Funding for "Here& Now" is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> In September, new commercial building codes
went into effect, nearly two years after a
legislative committee blocked a rule that would
have brought Wisconsin building codes into
compliance with international standards.
Now, the rule update was at the center of a Wisconsin
Supreme Court case that did more than just change
building codes. Here and now, senior political
reporter Zac Schultz has this story about how this
case is part of a series of court decisions that have
dramatically shifted the balance of power at the
Capitol. >> Any discussion hearing?
None. Clerk will call the roll.
>> The Joint Committee for the Review of
Administrative Rules is probably not well known by
most people outside the Capitol.
committee the entire time I've been on the
legislature. Adam Neylon, it's one of
the most important committees, because it's
been the place where Republicans can stop what
they view as executive overreach by the
administration of Governor Tony Evers.
>> The reason I did is because the real world
impact of administrative rules, people don't
necessarily understand that rules have the same impact
as law. >> Administrative rules are
proposed by state agencies. So when the DNR wants to
update the standards on how to clean up a hazardous
waste spill, or the Department of Safety and
Professional Services wants to update the commercial
building codes, they have to go through a series of
steps, including scope statements and public
hearings, and eventually the proposed rule will end
up in front of the Joint Committee for the Review of
Administrative Rules. >> On behalf of the
Department, I respectfully request that this committee
extend the expiration date for emergency rule 2502 by
60 days. >> The committee can
request changes, but one of the laws passed during the
lame duck session at the end of Governor Scott
Walker's term gave RFK, Jr. AR the ability to
indefinitely block rules. Both new rules and old
rules that have already been in effect for years.
In 2023, the committee blocked an update to the
building codes. >> When they proposed the
building code, it went what we believe far above and
beyond legislative intent. >> The committee also
blocked a proposed rule that would have banned gay
conversion therapy. >> We're not here
specifically to discuss the merits of any conversion
therapy or any other type of therapy.
>> Governor Evers filed a lawsuit claiming Cra's
ability to indefinitely suspend rules was a pocket
veto and unconstitutional. >> This case is as
consequential for the operation of government as
maybe I've seen in my time on the court.
>> At oral arguments, conservative Justice Bryan
Hagedorn seemed to acknowledge that decades
old arrangement may not be legal, but so many laws
have been passed giving state agencies the power to
make new rules. With the understanding the
legislature had oversight to make sure they didn't go
too far. Constitution says, but hey,
this is how we've been operating for a long time.
And the legislature has passed a lot of laws
accepting the framework that's been given.
>> Maybe it's not what the Constitution says was the
key phrase from Hagedorn. In a split decision, the
Liberal majority struck down RFK, Jr. ability to
object and suspend rules. >> Sanity will reign.
That's what I think. We've been dealing with this for
all the time I've been in office, and that is this
committee. Mainly the leadership were able to
stop everything dead in their tracks and then it
things just don't happen. >> Governor Tony Evers
celebrated the decision. While Republicans like
Neylon fear what rules may be coming now that they
can't object. >> And what we're seeing
now is how much this has expanded executive
authority and how much is actually expanded. The
ability to sidestep the legislature and potentially
have agency heads create a super legislature where
they're able to implement rules with no oversight
from the legislature. >> Both at the national
level and particularly at Wisconsin, there is a
redefining and shifting of what people thought was the
balance of power. And what the court is saying is now
the balance of power. >> Former Wisconsin Supreme
Court Justice Jeanine Gajewski says as the
partizan divides grow, the court is being asked to
look at the agreements on how
government works. >> They either have to say
there's a justification for it, not just a gentleman's
agreement or party's agreement. There has to be
a constitutional legal justification, or if not,
we're going to redefine it. >> Neylon may not like it,
but Democrats say the case was only filed because of
what they call the excessive abuse of
authority to shut down rules ranging from the DNR
setting safe levels for PFAS contamination,
election rules on absentee ballots, or the conversion
therapy ban. >> But I don't think the
headline should be about conversion therapy. I think
the headline should be we lost legislative oversight
because that's what really happened.
>> Gajewski says she was happy so many of the cases
cut across the partisan labels on the bench, with
conservatives joining with liberals, at least in part
on all these cases. >> I think that's healthy.
I really was glad to see that because I think a
court that is totally predictable is really a
court that looks like a legislature.
>> Neylon says they were already drafting
legislation in a more narrow fashion, to reduce
the need for agencies to draft rules.
>> You're already seeing bills be much more
prescriptive and not granting rulemaking
authority explicitly through legislation.
>> Well, I think that's what happens on decisions
that particularly upend what people have been doing.
And I think that what happens is that the the
branches get more creative. >> Neylon says his next
bill will attempt to restore some oversight for
RFK, Jr. in a way both sides can agree on.
>> I think there needs to be some sort of bipartisan
agreement, some sort of working together to make
sure that we put checks and balances back into our
system. I'm Zach Schulz for "Here&
Now". >> As children return to
classrooms at Milwaukee Public Schools this past
fall, more than 50 schools built before 1950 were
cleared of lead contamination. That work
happened after a student tested positive for lead
poisoning in January of last year, and was traced
back to chipped paint in a grade school. Subsequently,
at least nine schools were found to have high levels
of lead. By December 31st of this year, the district
and health department are scheduled to clear all
buildings built before 1978 of lead hazards. Still on
the list some 14 schools. Reporter Steven Potter was
in the schools in late summer with the story.
>> So they'll come back before school starts and
make sure that they get just a constant upkeep.
>> Brenda Cassellius is the superintendent of the
Milwaukee Public School system since her first day
in the job less than six months ago, she's faced the
daunting task of how to manage a significant health
risk facing the school district's more than 60,000
students. The problem is lead contamination,
specifically chipping lead paint and lead dust. And
the extent of the problem is very widespread.
>> So we have to assume that the schools built
prior to 1950, when there was the understanding that
there's lead in paint happened, that those
schools have lead in them. >> Cassellius says the
Milwaukee Public Schools were using lead paint until
it was federally outlawed in 1978. That means a
majority of schools are considered contaminated.
>> That's about 106 schools. >> The lead crisis began
when a student at the Golda Meir Elementary School
tested positive for lead poisoning back in January.
That's when the City of Milwaukee Health Department
got involved. >> We're very concerned
about developmental delays and cognitive regulation.
So if a child has significant lead poisoning,
it can cause behavioral issues and make their more
impulsive, and it can cause permanent brain damage that
has significant long term effects. So this is why
lead is regulated at the federal level and why we're
taking this so seriously here in the city.
>> Early last spring, after another MPs child tested
positive for lead poisoning, the health department
ordered the school district to come up with a lead
abatement and management plan to address the most
contaminated schools and the student populations
most in danger of lead poisoning.
>> The district was required to produce a lead
plan to ensure that we could get back to
compliance with the lead standards that are set
forth for any school across the state of Wisconsin.
>> Around 600 students have been tested. Totoritis says,
and the testing of students continues.
>> This is an ongoing effort that's really going
to span into the coming years to ensure that we
keep eyes on the students at Mnps and, frankly,
across the city. >> Part of the school
district's new plan, released last April,
included temporarily closing several schools and
relocating the students to another school. While
cleaning and repainting was done over the spring. And
now through summer. School officials say they've made
progress but still have dozens more schools to
clear. >> We're hoping that we'll
have our schools finished and tested by the September
2nd school start date. >> It's a fluid process, so
as we do our screenings and ensuring that the schools
are ready to reopen, we've uncovered, hey, you
actually need to reclean this room or you need to
restabilize this surface and that adds more time.
>> Despite all of their efforts so far, Mnps
officials say that there's still a lot more work to do
with cleaning and painting the schools to get them to
a standard that's safe for students. And once the
schools are stabilized, additional maintenance and
regular inspections will be needed to keep them that
way. going to cost somewhere
And then there's the ongoing costs. So we put an
additional $16 million of ongoing investments within
our facilities department to add custodial support,
to add painters, to add plasters, to add lead
abatement or lead inspectors to the team to
make sure that we're keeping up with our lead
action plan. >> And those are costs that
Mnps is having to cover alone.
help from the state. >> Still, some are
concerned that not enough is being done fast enough
or thoroughly enough to keep their kids safe. And
one group wants more transparency about what's
being done. Shannon Pahlicek is apparent with
Lead Safe Schools Milwaukee. >> It shouldn't have been a
problem in the first place. It's an issue of aging.
Buildings is a big part of it, but it's also an issue
of deferred maintenance, which is a multifaceted
problem. The administration's job is to
know what's going on in the schools. And so the idea
that there was, you know, as much degradation in the
paint as there was and as much dust in the schools as
there was, I think that's that's disheartening. No
child deserves to be unsafe on day one. So they've got
to do what they've got to do. But the faster the
better. But you want it done right.
>> MPs Superintendent Cassellius says she
understands the parents concerns.
we can with all urgency and no expense spared. So I've
told my team, if if you need additional painters,
we will buy them. If you need additional plasters,
we will buy them. The only thing that I can't give
them more of is time. We are up against a deadline
on September 2nd to get this work done.
>> You can't make a mistake like this and then ask the
public to just trust you. You have to be willing to
build that trust by being completely transparent.
>> Regardless of how much cleaning and repainting is
done, one fact remains that these schools still have
decades of lead paint inside them. So the only
way to truly eliminate this risk, MPs, officials say,
is to rebuild. >> I think that we need to
do some either major renovations or new builds,
and we need a significant 100 year plan in Milwaukee
public schools. We have to make some hard decisions as
a community about the investments we want to make
in our children's future. >> Reporting from Milwaukee.
I'm Steven Potter for "Here& Now".
>> In environmental news. At more than 100 sites
across the state, from Mount Pleasant to Superior,
people are dealing with water contaminated with the
man made chemicals known as PFAS. Last month, "Here&
Now", reporter Murv Seymour went to the Northwoods
community of Stella, which is currently under review
for a Superfund designation where residents put health
and environmental officials in the hot seat.
>> Stella is a farming community.
town of Stella. >> I think we're 700 and
some individuals out here. >> It's lakes, it's
wildlife, the people. >> Everybody is a neighbor
and everybody knows everybody.
reasons people move here. >> It's a very caring
locals never leave. >> When somebody needs
something out here, Obviously, it's a good
turnout. >> On this night. People
have shown up at Stella Hall filling the parking
lot and roadsides. >> We're all here for the
same reason. >> Inside, they fill nearly
every seat as they stand together listening. Because
tonight they need answers from town, state and
federal officials about their precious lakes and
wildlife that are contaminated with man made
chemicals known as PFAS. >> They're here to help us.
They're here to work with us. They're here to answer
our questions. >> Stella, town Chairman
Casey Crump lives in this community.
>> I love the community. I love the people.
>> He has for almost 25 years.
their friends. >> As the organizer, he put
this information session together to provide his
community and himself with the first update in almost
two years. On fact. >> We're learning more and
more. how contaminated are the
water and ground, whose wells are affected, and
what's the impact on people, wildlife, crops and
property values. Casey's quest for answers is
personal. >> It was personal before,
but now it's even more personal.
>> Like everyone else here. >> We have permanent
residents that live around it, and we have vacationers
that come up during the summer.
>> Casey Crump has plenty of questions.
>> What does PFAS do to us when we have it in our body?
And then also, how can we find out if we do have it
in our body? If my well's been tested positive and
I've been drinking this well for 30 years, you know,
do I have it in my body? How can we find out about
that? some areas are more than
three times the recommended levels. The town is in the
early assessment phase of being designated a federal
Superfund site. Superfund status would mean federal
funds and an expedited cleanup process. Behind
Town Hall sits one of many EPA and DNR groundwater
testing sites. Water samples taken from various
wells like this are part of the lengthy assessment
decades. For now, the DNR tells people within five
miles of Stella to limit their consumption of deer
meat to one meal per month, and they've been told not
to eat deer liver at all. And they shouldn't eat any
fish from almost a dozen different lakes in the area,
which includes fish in all of the lakes that make up
the heavily populated and popular Moen Lake Chain.
Nearby. Snowden Lake is on the list, too. At the edge
of the highway, 50 yards from shore, you'll find a
wooden gate that leads down towards the lake with a
sign that warns people about the contaminated lake
water and the risk of being exposed to it from swimming,
fishing, or ingesting it. >> We have any idea the
levels stay the same or are they getting worse or
getting better? panel takes questions from
people who have written them on index cards.
>> The rumor is that there were some illegal dumping
that caused this. Is that true or not true?
>> The DNR confirms that former owners of the paper
mill, now called Ahlstrom and Wausau Paper, are the
primary PFAS polluters in the area. They've notified
both companies and their previous owners, requiring
them to fund and clean up the contamination. In an
email statement in Ahlstrom, spokesperson tells me
they've received the notification and they're
carefully reviewing it with the recent site inspection
report. The statement goes on to say, we continue to
actively engage as a partner with the DNR, EPA
and other agencies. Less than a mile from Gene
Peterson's home on the shores of Third Lake and
the other lakes, all is pretty quiet on shore and
on the water. Aside from a few boaters fishing and
cruising the lake. One day after that community
meeting, I meet Gene Peterson at the Oneida
County Courthouse in Rhinelander. According to
the DNR, lengthy exposure to certain types of PFAS
can lead to an increased risk of cancer,
developmental delays, thyroid and heart issues,
infertility, and low birth weights in infants.
Residents are encouraged to use bottled water or treat
water that they consume. >> First visit DNR, gov and
search PFAS. >> The DNR has created an
interactive website where people can search and learn
if they're in one of the PFAS contaminated zones in
Wisconsin, there are thousands of types of man
made PFAS in things like nonstick cookware, plastic
wrappings, microwave popcorn bags, waterproof
clothing and foam commonly used in airport fire trucks.
>> I have a spring on my land. What do I need to do
to get it tested. >> At that community town
hall? At times, each answer leads to more questions.
>> They spread this stuff on my fields for years and
years and years. I lived on that field. I grow
vegetables in my garden, which turned out really
good this year. But now I have concerns about
consuming those vegetables because we water with our
well water. >> In Madison, state
lawmakers have set aside $125 million to help pay
for cleaning up PFAS contaminated sites across
the state, a drop in the bucket of what will be
needed. perfect wording for that,
so it includes all the landowners that actually
are innocent. on hold as lawmakers hash
out language in the bill that protects the
environment and protects farmers, families and
business owners from liability and the
anticipated astronomical costs of cleanup.
>> Wisconsin has done an excellent job under this
bill's law for decades, and but it does need funding.
>> Community groups representing municipalities
and environmental groups from all over the state
came here to weigh in on the conversation.
>> You don't have to treat the water, to do your
laundry, to do your dishes, to flush your toilet. But
you should be treating the water that you're using for
food preparation and for drinking water.
>> In a case by case situation, the state is
footing the bill to test and redrill some private
wells. People are already drinking bottled water and
some are paying for the testing of their own wells,
something Casey Crump believes his small
community might have to do if they want the water
quality here to get better before it gets worse.
>> We're willing to step up and we're willing to do
what we need to do, but we still want answers.
>> Reporting from Stella for here. Now I'm Murv
Seymour. >> In a look at education
reporting. UW-Madison sits on ancestral Ho-Chunk land.
In recognition of that. And to give back the Wisconsin
Tribal Education Promise offers full tuition,
including housing costs and fees, to native
undergraduate students in Wisconsin. The promise also
extends tuition waivers to native law and medical
students "Here& Now". Reporter Erika Ayisi looked
at the program and the history behind it. This
report is a collaboration with our partners at ICT,
formerly Indian Country. Today.
>> It means a lot to me and my people, my community,
the native community. We are still here. We're still
fighting for our right to be here.
>> Riley Aguirre is a freshman at the University
of Wisconsin's Madison campus.
>> Education was used as assimilation to get rid of
our culture, our language, our traditions, but now
it's used as a way of teaching.
>> She's an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation and
attending the university at no cost to her or her
family. Using the Wisconsin Tribal Education Promise
Program. How would your family have paid for
>> Other scholarships? scholarships outside of the
school to help me as well, and probably funding
through the tribe as well. >> The Wisconsin Tribal
Education Promise program provides financial support
for students who are enrolled in one of the
state's 11 federally recognized tribes. Karla
Vigue, Tribal relations director of UW-Madison,
says the university wants to make the Madison campus
more accessible to native students.
>> We worked with tribal leaders from across the
state to create the program, and now we're seeing the
fruits of those labors. You know, we're seeing our
first class. We've got nearly 80 students in this
first class, and we're hoping it will grow from
here. >> Tuition, housing, books
and all other school related fees totaling about
$30,000 are covered for undergraduate native
students through the Promise program.
>> It's not a taxpayer funded program. And, you
know, we're pretty proud that people want to support
this program. through private donations.
Vigue says the legal precedent surrounding
federally recognized tribes is a specific eligibility
requirement for the students applying to the
program. >> Federally recognized
tribes are sovereign nations who determine
citizenship. And so that's a political classification.
It's not a race or ethnicity.
>> Undergraduate recipients of the tribal promise are
reserved one wing of dorms inside the Smith Residence
Hall. There's also an indigenous student center
close by that hosts tribal student groups like Wunk
Sheek. Vigue says the university wants to do
what's right for Wisconsin's native people,
considering the university is on native land belonging
to the Ho-Chunk, also known as the people of the Big
Voice. >> This is Ho-Chunk
ancestral land, and I think there's now some sense of
pride in that and wanting to share and celebrate that
history. But there's also, you know, with this promise,
a chance to give back to. >> The University of
Wisconsin's Madison campus extends over 900 acres of
land, including a four mile stretch of shoreline along
Lake Mendota. But this land is the ancestral home to
the Ho-Chunk nation. The native people, who are
living here for over 10,000 years. Through a series of
treaties, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede or give up
this land to the state of Wisconsin and the federal
government. >> The 1837 treaty wasn't a
revered treaty at all. These are forced agreements
to cede our land, such as that particular treaty,
move west of the Mississippi, and, you know,
and relinquish our ownership of our historic
homes. >> Jon Greendeer, president
of Ho-Chunk nation, says the final treaty with the
government was signed under duress.
>> I don't think any representatives of
authority could walk away from one of those
agreements and say they were the beneficiary of
something. >> Ho-Chunk had already
surrendered this part of their land in an 1832
treaty, paving the way for UW-Madison to be built in
1848. >> I think the Wisconsin
promise is a very old promise that is finally
getting kept, at least at the UW level, at least at
the college level. >> For Aguirre, a free
university education on native soil is personal.
>> Our education is not only for me, but for our
community and for the resiliency of my ancestors.
We fought so long through so many generations of
trauma and abuse and neglect, and being here is
like resiliency. [MUSIC]
>> They were forcibly removed, and this
university has spent some time coming to accept and
share that story. And part of the reason this promise
exists is because, you know, there is some recognition
that that all happened. But there's also, you know,
there's also the need and want to to do what's right
and good for native people, too.
>> Reporting from Madison Ho-Chunk lands. I'm Erika
Ayisi for “Here& Now” and Eich.
>> For more on this and other issues facing
Wisconsin, visit our website at PBS Wisconsin.
Org and then click on the news tab. That's our
program for tonight I'm Frederica Freyberg. Have a
good weekend. >> Funding for "Here& Now"
is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and
Friends of PBS Wisconsin.